Bend Before The Break
by whatif05
Summary: Director Vance asks Tony to take part in an important secret mission. Tony knows it's going to be insane, but he doesn't expect to work along with a certain person.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! This is my new fanfiction. I do NOT own NCIS or its characters.**

**Before you start reading, there are two things I would like to tell you: 1) This fanfiction takes place about three years after Kate's death. 2) Do not believe anything you read here because a lot of the stuff you are about to read is made up to match the story!**

"She totally fell for me. And then, just when she gave me that look... you know what look I'm talking about, McGeek?"  
"No, no I don't know what look, Tony, and I don't think I wanna know", Timothy McGee replied when his colleague, Anthony DiNozzo recounted just another weekend date he had.  
"I thought so, well..." Tony was about to answer but was cut off by NCIS Director Leon Vance, who stood on the stairs behind Tony.  
"Special Agent DiNozzo", the Director started seriously, making Tony immediately turn around.  
"Yes?"  
"Meet me in my office, now", the male said, before going back upstairs.  
Ziva David, who worked with NCIS for about three years then, looked at Tony, "Looks like someone got in trouble?"  
"Very funny", he replied, before walking upstairs, following the Director.

It was a fresh day in April, noon, when a knock was heard in the Director's office.  
"Come in", Director Vance answered.  
Tony opened the door and walked in, finding the Director with a young-looking stranger inside. The two males sat at the Director's desk, an empty chair next to the stranger.  
"Please sit down", the Director pointed to the empty chair, opposite his own.  
The Special Agent did as he was told before the Director started explaining.  
"Special Agent DiNozzo, this is Special Agent Lawson from the USSS", the Director introduced the blond agent who was in his late twenties, and the women-loving agent.  
"Secret Service?" Tony said in surprise, not knowing what was to come next.  
"The USSS is in a crisis right now and about to start an important secret mission to protect the president and the citizens of our country", the Director started.  
Special Agent Lawson nodded and added, "Due to the fact that top secret Naval information is involved, we would appreciate the collaboration of NCIS and would be pleased to have an agent take part in our mission."  
"You want me to protect the country?"  
"Together with one of our best agents", Lawson affirmed.  
Tony nodded, "What do I have to do?"  
"If you accept, you will meet the Director of the Secret Service first thing tomorrow morning. He will tell you the exact plan then, seeing as it's a secret mission", the young agent explained.  
"Is there a reason I was chosen?" Tony asked, trying to find out what he would have to do.  
Vance looked at him, "The Secret Service Director, Foster, asked me to give him one of the best agents I have and told me some qualities that agent requires, which you do."  
"Seeing as it's about saving the country I would love to accept, but not knowing what's to come to me is kinda not the way I do this."  
Special Agent Lawson looked down for a few seconds before sighing, looking at Tony, "A plan went wrong so part of the mission is to bring a prisoner back to his home country."  
"A terrorist?"  
"Yes."  
"What did he do?"  
"He stole top secret Naval information, we arrested him. Too bad that was their plan, because now they threaten us to attack the president, in case we don't give them their men back."  
"What about the information he stole?"  
"We got it back, but we don't know if he was able to inform his colleagues of anything before we arrested him."  
Tony nodded and stayed silent for a moment, "I'll do it."  
"Good. Then meet Director Foster at the USSS Headquarters tomorrow, 10 am. We expect you to not talk with anyone about this mission, even when it's finished."  
Tony nodded again, "Got it."

After everything was settled, Tony dismissed Special Agent Lawson and went back to the bullpen, where his two team colleagues, David and McGee, already awaited him.  
"What did the Director want, Tony?"  
"None of your business, McGee."  
McGee didn't reply, so Ziva made a guess instead, "Maybe he was fired?"  
Tony faked a grin, "Very funny, Officer David, but no, I was not fired. Actually, I just got to hear that I am one of Director Vance's best agents."  
"Sure", Ziva ironically agreed.  
"What?" Tony didn't understand the irony, "He said that."  
"If you say so..."  
"Anyways, where's the boss?" Tony changed the subject.  
McGee shrugged, "I think he went down to Abby."  
Tony nodded before going to the elevator, riding it down to Abby's lab. Just as the doors opened, Gibbs stood in front of him, joining him in the elevator.  
"Boss, we need to talk", Tony started.  
Gibbs looked at Tony and waited for him to say something.  
"Director just talked to me, I will be part of a secret mission, starting tomorrow. I don't know how long it will take, but for the next time I won't be here."  
Gibbs nodded but didn't say something.  
"What?" Tony looked at his boss, "No »I will miss you« or »But I need you here, DiNozzo, because you are the best agent I got in my team«?"  
Gibbs stayed silent for a few seconds, until the doors of the elevator opened, "Don't get yourself killed", he said, stepping out of the elevator.

The next day, Tony got up at eight. After he got out of bed, slowly, he went into his bathroom to take a shower. Being done with that, he walked into his kitchen and made himself a sandwich.  
He asked himself how this mission was going to turn out, how long it would take, if it would be dangerous. But he had no idea what was to come. And he could never imagine. Because this mission was going to be very intense in all kind of ways.

At the Secret Service Headquarters, Tony was immediately taken to one of the conference rooms, in which he was already awaited by Director Foster.  
"Special Agent DiNozzo, I am Director Foster, hello", the dark-haired, fifty-year-old man greeted Tony, while walking over to him.  
After shaking hands, the two sat down at a long table.  
"Agent Lawson has already informed you what the basics of the mission are."  
Tony nodded, "Yes, he mentioned a terrorist that needs to be delivered back into his home country. The president and Naval information has to be protected."  
"Exactly. You will work together with one of our top agents. I hope it doesn't bother you to work with a woman?"  
"Bother?" A grin came on Tony's face, "Why would that bother me?"  
"Good. I believe your boss knows of you being here."  
Tony nodded, "Of course. He's my boss, he kinda needs to know where I am."  
"That's alright. But remember that besides saying that you take part in this mission, you cannot tell anyone about this."  
"I sure got that part. Now about the entire mission..."  
"A few years ago we were able to make a secret pact with a terrorist. When the terrorist got killed, the pact died with him. That's when his colleagues threatened us that if we didn't give them Naval information, they would attack the president. We agreed, but of course we couldn't risk giving out top secret information. Instead, we faked realistic information and gave it to them. They seemed to buy it. Anyway, they sent one of their man to us to steal information, that's when we knew that they knew we were faking. We arrested the terrorist either way, not knowing that it was a trap. Since the arrest they have been threatening us that if we didn't give them their man back, we would lose our president and thousands or millions of citizens."  
"What organization is the terrorist from?"  
"Mossad."  
Tony's eyes widened, "Mossad?"  
"Yes. Anyway, your job is to bring the terrorist back, try to find out if any of the information he stole reached the Mossad yet, and if so, bring it back. You also need to find out what they have planned as attack on the president."  
Tony nodded, "Your agent... is she good?"  
"Very. She has experience, strength and everything else a good agent requires."  
"When will the mission start?"  
"When my agent arrives she will tell you everything you need to know about the fake information we created and also everything you need to know about or prisoner", the Director answered.  
"When will we bring the prisoner back to Tel Aviv?"  
"Next Monday. We have planned for you two to stay there for two to three days and then return."  
Tony nodded, "Okay."  
The Director checked his watch, sighing, "Where the hell is she?"  
"The agent I'm about to work with?"  
"Yes", Director Foster looked back at Tony, "You have to excuse her, she is usually not like that, but we're quite busy lately."  
"It's alright, I have time", Tony answered.  
"Just don't think bad of her. She really is a good agent."  
"Is she on some other mission right now?"  
Foster shook his head, "No, I suppose she is doing research for your mission or is getting things done."  
"What kinda things?"  
"Booking flights, making appointments for the president. I don't know. She said she'd be here on time though."  
"Maybe she just needs some ladies' room time", Tony winked.  
The Director was just about to answer the federal agent, when the doors swung open, a brunette woman rushing inside, "Sorry I'm late, I still had to", she stopped in the middle of the sentence as she caught sight of Tony.  
Silence filled the room, Tony and the brunette staring at each other, speechless and shocked, as well as confused.  
"What the...", was all Tony could say.  
The Director on the other hand, didn't notice their thoughts, so he introduced the two instead, "Special Agent DiNozzo, I would like you to meet one of our best agents, and your partner, Special Agent Caitlin Todd."

**Alright, that's it for the first chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review to let me know what you think of this chapter. Thanks :-)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all the reviews I got so far, I really appreciate them. Because I got such lovely reviews, here you go with the next chapter.**

Tony was shocked. He didn't know what just happened. Even though he looked at her, it was too surreal. This couldn't possibly be her. She died. No. She was killed. That moment still haunted him.  
While Tony was speechless, the female agent looked at her boss, angrily.  
"What is he doing here?" She said, trying to suppress her anger.  
The Director shortly looked at Tony, excusing, before looking back at Kate, "Special Agent Todd, is there a problem?"  
"Is there... a problem?" She tried to stay calm but couldn't keep her emotions inside, "What the hell is he doing here?"  
"Uhh, what do you mean? I told you an NCIS agent would work with you and..."  
"Yes. Yes you did. But why _him_?"  
The Director got a little nervous, "You mean he..."  
"He is on_ that_ team? Yes!"  
Foster swallowed nervously, "I'm sorry. I send Lawson, you know he doesn't know."  
"And you felt like you don't need to tell him that there are people who can't be part of this mission for reasons that you can't tell him?" Kate said stunned.  
"I couldn't tell him and I didn't think that the possibility of someone from that team to be chosen would be too high."  
Kate sighed, still looking at the Director.  
"Is this some kind of a sick joke?" Tony asked, gaining the attention of the others.  
"No, it's not. I'm sorry, I didn't know that you were one of the agents who knew Special Agent Todd", Foster answered, trying to stay calm.  
"I don't get it...", Tony quietly said, trying to hold back his emotions.  
The Director was about to answer, but was cut off by his phone, "Yes?... Okay, I'll be right there", he hung up before facing the two agents, "I gotta go. I'm sorry for the mistake, but we can't change that now. Please do your job and do it good."  
Foster left, leaving the two agents alone in silence.  
The two former colleagues stared into each others eyes, not knowing what to say or how to react.  
"I know this is... confusing", the brunette started.  
Tony nodded, "You're... alive? But... how?"  
"Look, Tony", she took a deep breath before continuing, "This mission has nothing to do with you... or me... we need to stay professional and with that I mean we need to... we need to pretend that we don't know each other."  
"What?"  
"Things happened. Things changed. Just pretend that we never met. That I never joined NCIS. You just met me now, okay?"  
"You're back with the Secret Service?"  
Kate sighed, "Yes, Tony, I am."  
"And you're alive."  
"Yes."  
"And you are Kate."  
"No, goddammit I'm the Easter Bunny. Of course it's me!"  
Tony couldn't believe it, "That's impossible. I saw...", he looked down for a moment before looking back into her eyes, "I saw you being... killed."  
"I just told you, pretend that I never joined NCIS. That all that never happened."  
"Well, excuse me, but that is not exactly the simplest thing to do when seeing a former colleague... a former friend, alive, after having seen her being killed three years ago."  
"I get it, okay? But it doesn't matter what is easy to you. What matters is that you do as I said."  
"How could I pretend to not know you? I don't even know what the hell is going on or how you managed to survive that shot."  
"I know..."  
"Maybe I'm dreaming..."  
"You are not dreaming, DiNozzo."  
"You are alive", he repeated.  
Kate sighed, "Yes, I am."  
Tony was about to ask yet another question, but was cut off by Kate, who took a file out of her bag and reached it to the NCIS agent, "This is the guy we need to bring back to Tel Aviv next week."  
"Tamir Yadin", Tony read out loud after he opened the file.  
Kate looked at Tony while he read the file. No one was to find out about her being alive and she thought she would never see him again. And there he was. Close to her, aware that she was still alive. Even though he should not know of her not being dead, she was relieved that he found out. But being realistic, she knew that Tony knowing made everything harder. Not for the mission in general. But for her and him.  
"What kind of information did he steal?" Tony asked after closing the file.  
"Information about Naval ships. The construction, the crews."  
Tony looked at her, "I can't believe you're still alive."  
Kate moaned, "God, Tony, would you stop that and concentrate on the mission?"  
"Well excuse me for still being shocked.", Tony calmly replied.  
"I got that part. Now can we focus on this again?"  
"Sure..."

The two agents talked about the mission for about two hours, before they were done. Kate put the file back in her bag, while Tony looked at her. She noticed it and as soon as she was done putting the file back, she looked at him, "Could you stop that, please?"  
"Sorry, I just..."  
"DiNozzo!"  
"What?"  
She looked at him, seriousness in her eyes, "Remember what I said earlier?"  
"You said a lot, actually."  
"I said we have to pretend like I've never met you before, like I've never worked at NCIS."  
"Yeah about that..."  
"No."  
"What do you mean 'no'?"  
Kate got up, "It means no questions. Just listen to me. We never met until now. And when we're done with this mission you'll just remember me as the »Secret Service Chick«."  
Those were the last works of Kate before she left the room.  
Tony sat there, by himself, confused, "What just happened?"

It was dark. Eleven pm. His apartment filled with silence. He lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep. What did he just experience? Was it real? Or would he soon wake up, realizing it was all just a dream? He didn't know. And what was it with the pretending not to know each other? How did Kate survive? Thousands of questions ran through Tony's mind. Unfortunately, he couldn't answer them. And Kate didn't seem to be willing to answer them. For a second Tony thought about calling Gibbs and asking him, but he then remembered that Gibbs didn't know and that Tony wasn't aloud to talk about the mission, and Kate. Tony had the strange feeling that there was more to the mission than he was told. He felt like Kate was more involved in the mission than anyone else. Maybe she wasn't willing to answer him, but he would find out. He had to.

At home, Kate let herself fall on her bed. When she woke up that day, she hadn't imagine to meet Tony. Of all people. She knew she would work together with an NCIS agent and she knew Tony was good. But she didn't think that they would take Tony. She actually thought that Director Foster was capable of choosing an agent that didn't know of Kate's NCIS time. And then of all people, it was Tony who was chosen. That just made it harder. She always hated the fact that she would never see him again, and that she made him saw how she died even though it wasn't real, but seeing him again wasn't any better. Not because she didn't like him, because she did. No. The reason was that as soon as the mission was over, they would have to say goodbye. She couldn't possibly say goodbye. It never felt quite right pretending to be dead, but that way she was the only one of them knowing that she was able to see him again, but couldn't. She didn't want to hurt Tony. She didn't want to say goodbye. But now it was too late. He knew. From the moment she saw in his eyes that day she knew that they would have to say goodbye and that that would make everything even worse.  
She almost fell asleep when her phone rang. The brunette got up and walked to the kitchen, where she answered the phone, "Hello?"  
"My apologies for not choosing an NCIS agent myself", Foster said.  
"It can't be changed now", Kate replied.  
Foster nodded, "I know. The Director of NCIS chose him, he is supposed to be one of the best agents. Would you agree?"  
Kate thought back for a few seconds, remembering some of the cases they had, making her smile, "Yes, he is a very good agent."  
"Is it going to be a problem that you know each other?"  
"He was very confused today and I guess that is not going to change in the next few days but... he'll keep it to himself, mostly. Anyway, I believe that it's not gonna be a problem for him to work together with me. It's just that... he wants to know what happened and this curiosity is not going to fade away."  
"And are you able to work with him?"  
Kate stayed silent for a moment, "Yes."  
"Good. I trust you, agent Todd. DiNozzo is one of the best NCIS agents while you are one of the best Secret Service agents. I believe you two can do this. And maybe the fact that you two know each other makes it easier."  
"In what way?"  
"Because serious missions are always easier to be successfully accomplished when there is trust between the people who were involved."  
Kate nodded, "We can do it."  
"Try to keep your emotions aside."  
"With all respect, Sir, you don't need to tell how to do my job, I'm aware of that."  
"I know that you do, agent Todd. But this mission isn't just another job. It's about saving the president and the country."  
"Like you said I am one of the best agents, I think I can handle that. And just so you know, Special Agent DiNozzo and I are a good team."  
"That's all I needed to hear", the USSS Director said before hanging up.  
Kate sighed in relief. What she said was true. She and Tony were a good team. And now they were back.

**And with that the actual story begins. Hope you enjoyed this chapter :-) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again for all the nice reviews I've gotten so far :-) Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last ones.**

What he needed was a plan. He would not just go along with what he was told to do. He wouldn't ignore the feeling that something very dangerous was going on. So he had to figure out what Kate had to do with everything. But it was hard figuring something out without having any information. Neither did he have any access to information, since he wouldn't be at NCIS for the time being due to the mission he was part of. He would ask someone but obviously there was a reason why Kate had faked her death and didn't tell them. He also couldn't ask Gibbs, McGee or Abby for help. Also, if he suddenly called Gibbs or anyone else of the team and asked them something about Kate or her death, it would be quite suspicious. With that, he didn't have anything. He didn't even have a lead.  
For an NCIS Special Agent it shouldn't be too hard to figure those things out, but without access to information it was hard.

The next morning, Tony's alarm woke him up at six am. He hit the alarm clock and rubbed his eyes. Just when he opened his eyes, he remembered the day before. Did that really happen? Or did he just dream it? Tony was confused. It couldn't have been real. She was shot, he remembered. The moment that would be stuck in his memory for eternity, giving him nightmares once in a while, sadden and scaring him.  
He got up and made his way into the bathroom where he took a quick shower before changing into fresh clothes. Tony was just about to take a bite from his breakfast, when he heard a knock on the door.  
Disappointed, Tony put the toast down on a plate and made his way to the door.  
"Hi?" He said in surprise, when his temporarily colleague stood in front of him. At least he got an answer to whether or not he just dreamed the entire last day.  
"Good, you're up", a smiling Kate greeted him while stepping in.  
The NCIS Special Agent closed the door behind her, confused that she came over, "What are you doing here?"  
"Well", she turned around to face him, "I figured since we will have more to do than just bring a terrorist back, we should also plan on how to figure out the plan the Mossad has."  
"You mean the attack on America?"  
Kate nodded, "Yes."  
"Okay, but why are you here exactly? Not that it bothers me, I'm actually very glad", Tony stopped when Kate gave him the death glare she'd always give him, "Why aren't we at the Secret Service Headquarters?"  
"Because we need privacy."  
Tony grinned, "Well if you wanna..."  
"To work. There are secret things we're about to do, nothing of your fantasies, DiNozzo. This is serious, okay? Could you just stop your attitude for one second?"  
"Sorry."  
Kate sighed, "Like I said we need to find out what the Mossad has planned. Thing is, they know that we're trying to figure out their plan and now we can't hack into their systems with the computers at the Secret Service Headquarters. So, I decided to come to you instead."  
"Well then", Tony smiled, "Let's go into the dining room", He said, walking into another room with Kate.

The two prepared everything, placed the laptop, put files on the desk and so on.  
"How exactly are we going to find out what their plan is? And if we can hack into their computer, which I'm sure I can't, what do you think are we gonna find? You don't actually believe that someone there keeps a computer diary called »Attack on the USA«?"  
Kate shook her head, "Not exactly. But they would probably have information to their weapons and such on their computer, if we're lucky they'll have some sort of plan or schedule on their."  
"Okay, that's possible. But did you become a computer pro in the last three years and are able to hack into their computer?"  
"A colleague from the Secret Service did that for me already, see", Kate said before turning the laptop to Tony who sat towards her.  
Tony slowly nodded in confusion, "Okay?"  
"Look, Tony, it's not just you and me working on this case, just that you and I have to deliver a terrorist and face the enemies."  
"When did this colleague hack into their computer?"  
"About twenty minutes ago, why?"  
"Is it a male colleague?"  
Kate sighed, "You've gotta be kidding me, DiNozzo. What the hell is your problem?"  
"I'm confused, Kate, okay? I was suddenly dragged into the Director's office and was offered an important top secret mission to save the USA and then I go to the Secret Service Headquarters and then there is... and then there is suddenly you. Alive. And you still haven't told me why you are alive. Not that this is bad, because it's everything but bad, it's awesome. Just that... I don't get how that is possible. I need time to understand."  
"You don't have to understand it, Tony. The USSS needed the NCIS or at least one agent as support, especially for bringing the terrorist back. That they chose you was a mistake. You weren't supposed to find out that I'm alive and even though now you know I can't... I can't tell you."  
"Why not?"  
"Reasons you don't understand."  
"But I want to understand and I will if you just give me a chance."  
Kate stayed silent for a moment, "What's important now is to figure out what the Mossad planned as an attack on America. If we don't find out, you'll never get a chance to find out why I'm alive, because then we're all gonna be dead. But sure, if you're dying to know why I'm still alive, go ahead and try to figure it out. But there's more important things to do and I will concentrate on them. So should you."  
"Okay, Special Agent Todd", Tony quietly answered.

Meanwhile, Gibbs and his team were working on their own case. It wasn't anything special, a Petty Officer was shot in his heart by a regular gun. While McGee and Ziva made research in the bullpen, Gibbs went upstairs to talk to Director Vance.  
"Come in", Director Vance said after hearing a knock.  
Gibbs came in, walking to Vance's desk, "What kind of mission is Tony involved in right now?"  
"It's top secret and I believe he already told you that."  
Gibbs nodded, "He mentioned it. But since one of my agents is missing right now, I'd like to know what's more important than doing his job."  
"He is my agent and he is doing his job indeed. But I can't tell you more."  
"Dangerous?"  
"Not more dangerous than the cases he is involved in on a daily bases."  
"How important is it?"  
"This is a very serious and important mission. He works together with a USSS Special Agent."  
"Secret Service?"  
Vance nodded, "I told you as much as I could, even more."  
"And how long is this mission supposed to take, Leon?"  
The Director shrugged, "The Secret Service needs Special Agent DiNozzo for two to three weeks."

Back at Tony's apartment, the two silently made research on the plan of the Mossad.  
"What exactly makes them want to attack us?" Tony asked out of nowhere.  
Kate stopped typing and looked at Tony instead, "It's not like that's what they really want. I mean, they said they would attack us, if we don't do as they say. What they really want is information to our Navy, for example our weapons, our ships, our crews."  
"But why are they interested in the crews and ships?"  
"To be able to protect themselves in case we get in a war with them? Or maybe they want to get stronger themselves. Or another reason would be to either be able to defeat our Navy or destroy it."  
Tony nodded, "And you sent them faked information?"  
"We took old information, ships that aren't in use anymore, crews that don't exist anymore. Most of the information is already twenty years old. But we still couldn't send them that, so we changed them a little bit, to look newer, but not being completely correct."  
"Then how did they find out they were fake?"  
Kate shrugged, "I don't know. But that doesn't really matter anyways. What matters is they found out that they're fakes."  
"Why did the Secret Service agree on giving them information anyways? Did they ask for it and immediately got it, for no real reason?"  
Kate looked down, remembering something she wished she could forget, but then looked up again, not facing Tony, "That doesn't matter anymore."  
Tony looked at her seriously, immediately noticing that something was wrong, "What's wrong, Kate?"  
"You're not doing your job."  
"I'm serious."  
"Me too. Talking won't bring us any further. So how about you try to find out what their plan is", Kate commanded, annoyance in her voice.  
Tony nodded, "Whatever you say, boss."  
Kate sighed.

He knew he needed a plan. More than that, he needed a tactic. Kate obviously wasn't ready to answer any of his questions and he understood that they're job was to protect the US, but he couldn't get rid of the feeling that Kate had more to do with the mission than she told him. It wasn't just his urge to know why she faked her death, but also his interest in doing his job. He wasn't Gibbs. But yet Tony had his own guts and they weren't for nothing. Whatever was her reason to fake her death, he would find out. And he would make sure to make whoever was responsible for that, pay for it. Pay for tearing the team apart, pay for taking Kate away from him.

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next chapter will follow in a few days :-) And while I'm writing the next chapter, you should tell me what you think the reason for Kate faking her death is and if Tony's thoughts are right, that she got something to do with this mission!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for all the great reviews so far, I enjoy reading them! :-) Here you go with another chapter.**

**Of course I do NOT own NCIS, but this fanfiction is all mine.**

The two federal agents continued their work, mostly silently. Both had a lot on their minds, but knew that they had to keep it exactly there.  
"It's no good, I can't find anything", the brunette complained after searching the computer for two hours.  
Tony looked up from the papers he went through, "I told you there's not gonna be anything on there."  
"No I mean I can't get any access to their stupid computers!"  
"I thought your guy friend hacked you into their system?"  
Kate gave Tony the death glare that he knew too well, "First of all he's a colleague who happened to be male, just like you, Tony, and second, he did but all I can see is what their desktop looks like. I don't get access to any of the folders."  
Tony sighed, "I guess McGee really is a big help at times."  
"There's no way we can get into their system with this laptop. Neither can we use the computers at the Secret Service Headquarters. How else are we supposed to find out what's on their computer?"  
"You know...", Tony started, gaining Kate's full attention again, "I know this might sound crazy but I think we need McGee."  
"Tony", Kate started but was cut off by her colleague.  
"I know it's a secret mission and it's a risk. But at the same time it's about protecting our country. And as long as you don't have a better plan, I don't know what else we could do?"  
Kate sighed shortly, and eventually nodded, "McGee is good and I'm sure he can do it better than the people from the Secret Service but what do you plan on telling him what you need him to hack you into the Mossad's computers for?"  
Tony had to think about that for a second, "Well it's not like he doesn't know I'm part of a mission right now. So I could just tell him that I need him to hack in the computer of someone."  
"Even though that's a good thought, don't you think he'd ask you what the hell the mission is about as soon as he finds out it has something to do with the Mossad? I mean he'll immediately wanna know what's it about."  
"And then I'll tell him that I can't tell him. Or rather, I'll tell him before he'll even know that it has something to do with them. It's my job, Kate, have some trust in me."  
"I rather not", she mumbled, looking back at her screen.  
"Hey!" Tony called out, trying to hide that he felt offended and hurt by it, just to be calmed down by Kate grinning at him.  
"I was kidding, no need to freak out."  
"I didn't freak out."  
"Sure", Kate winked.  
Tony grinned at her, "Weren't you the one telling me to pretend we don't actually know each other?"  
Kate's face immediately turned serious again, "You're right, sorry."  
"What? No. I mean... it's good to know that there's still you in there", Tony smiled.  
"I don't know how but I guess this was supposed to be some sort of compliment, so... thanks, Tony, I appreciate it."  
Tony grinned at her and was about to say something, when his cell phone started ringing, "DiNozzo", he answered the phone.  
"DiNozzo, this is Director Vance. I talked to Secret Service Director Foster and we agreed that it would be better if you went back to NCIS and worked from there."  
"What? Why?" Tony was shocked. Did it have something to do with Kate?  
"Director Foster informed me that the Secret Service doesn't have any access to the Mossad's computers anymore, which is a huge problem in this mission. So Foster and I agreed on having you work at NCIS from morning till noon and then go to the Secret Service to work with them again."  
Tony nodded, "What am I supposed to tell Gibbs then? Or the others? Don't you think they'd ask me questions like what am I doing there again?, or how was the mission?"  
"You'll simply ignore their questions. Even when the mission is over for real you will not be allowed to talk about it anyways."  
"Okay, but about the hacking into the computers... how am I supposed to do that? First of all, what if my colleagues notice? And second, how am I supposed to hack into those damn computers? I don't know how to do that."  
"Ask McGee for help if necessary", the Director replied.  
"Why is everyone saying I should get McGee to do that? Why does no one care about the fact that he would start asking questions and probably tell Gibbs?"  
"You'll only tell him in who's computer he needs to hack in. He'll find out that your mission has something to do with the Mossad but we can't change that. What's important is that we find out what they are planning."  
Tony nodded and hung up, sighing.  
"Who was that?"  
"Director Vance", Tony said, looking at Kate, "He agrees with you. And my schedule kind of changed. I'll go back to NCIS tomorrow morning and be back to meet up with you at the Secret Service HQ's in the afternoon."  
Kate nodded, "Okay. Do you think you can do it?"  
"What do you mean?" Tony asked in confusion.  
"Facing Gibbs. Pretending as if nothing special is going on. Pretending that I'm not alive."  
Tony held back memories, "Did you have to bring that up again?"  
"Sorry."  
He smiled at her, "It's okay. And yes, I can do that."  
Kate looked at him seriously.  
"Hey, c'mon. Are you saying I'm bad at hiding my feelings?"  
"You know Gibbs, and so do I. He'll know."  
"Thanks, that's gonna help me", Tony sarcastically replied.  
Fortunately for Tony that was a good way to respond because it brought that beautiful smile on Kate's lips he had missed all those years.  
"Plus", Tony started grinning, "If he asks I might as well say that my co-worker on this case is a girl I once slept with."  
Kate leaned over the table to hit his chest with her fist. She wanted to elbow him, but sitting towards each other made that hard, "Only in your dreams, DiNozzo."  
"He'd believe that."  
"I doubt that."  
Tony smiled at her, "You really haven't changed, Katie."  
"Unfortunately, neither have you", Kate replied, giving him a funny look.  
"You've missed me, admit it", Tony playfully grinned.  
"What's to miss? Your constant womanizing. You not letting me have my privacy and even going through my trash to know who I'm going out with? Or maybe you needing to pretend to be the boss as soon as the real boss isn't around?"  
The grin on Tony's face disappeared, "You can be such a meanie."  
"Right, I forgot to add that you're also very childish."  
"Now you're crossing the line, don't you think?"  
Kate gave him a funny smile.  
"I can't believe you."  
"Why not?"  
"This is just too crazy, okay?"  
Kate lay her hand down on Tony's, looked him in the eyes and ironically said, "Don't worry, I believe you can survive this mess."  
The two colleagues and friends looked into each others eyes for a few seconds, before starting to laugh for a long time.

Tony felt good. He hadn't laughed like this for ages. He always knew he missed Kate, but now he noticed that he had missed her even more than he thought. Laughing with her felt so good, he never noticed. Tony felt relief, seeing as Kate was the one who said that they would have to pretend as if they had never met before. But now she was joking with him like they used to. He was glad. For a moment he thought that she didn't care about their friendship, but that proved that she as well cared. In all those years he had no one he could be the way he was with Kate. Even though they were often fighting or disagreeing, he felt certain and strong with her. No one else made him feel this way, probably because he was never looking for someone to replace Kate. He wouldn't and couldn't do that. He knew there was only one Kate and to his luck, she was still breathing. There was simply something missing in all those years, but now he got it back. He wouldn't let her slip away again. This time, he would fight. He was more than certain that there was a dangerous connection between the mission and Kate, and he didn't like that.

"Is everything okay?", Kate interrupted Tony's thoughts.  
The male looked up, into Kate's worried face, "Sure, what shouldn't be okay?"  
"You looked worried."  
Tony put on the smile he put on when he wanted to hide his feelings, "Did I?"  
"You don't need to do that, Tony."  
"Do what?"  
"You know what I mean", she said, a warm smile on her lips.  
Yes, he did know what she meant. But if he told her what he just thought about, she would tell him that she had nothing more to do with the mission than he had. It wouldn't change anything.  
"I'm just glad that you're alive and that I got to see you again... that's all", he honestly answered, looking into her eyes, lighting up.  
"Me too", she softly smiled. But what Tony didn't know was that she was as concerned for him, as he was for her. What was to come would be hard, and she didn't want Tony to get involved in it. At the same time though, she was glad to have him by her side. Together, they would make it through, she was sure of that. They were a team and have always been one. And a good one. Maybe without Tony working with her, the mission would not turn out to be a success. Maybe only with Tony they had a chance. They would see how it would be. But for now, the two had to try to keep their emotions aside, concentrating on the mission.

**That's it for this chapter, hope you enjoyed it!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks again for all your reviews, here you go with the next chapter! :-)**

"Good morning everyone", Tony happily greeted everyone in the bullpen the next morning, acting as if he was never gone.  
"Good... morning", Ziva slowly greeted back, confusion in her voice.  
Tony walked to his desk, the others watching his every move. He sat down and started his computer, just looking at the screen.  
"So...", McGee finally broke the silence.  
Tony looked at his long-time colleague "So what?"  
"I thought you were part of a mission?"  
"They're on a small break", Gibbs explained, not looking up from his screen.  
"They", Ziva curiously looked over at Tony.  
Tony looked at her, confused, "What? Never heard of a group mission? People are mostly not alone on missions."  
"I hope for whoever you work for that you're not working with a woman."  
"What's that supposed to mean, Ziva?"  
"It means that would not work."  
"It works perfectly fine, thanks."  
Ziva grinned smartly, "So it is a woman you are working with."  
"Yes", Tony shortly replied.  
"Is she hot?"  
Tony smirked at the brunette, "Why, are you interested?"  
"Are you?"  
"I am interested in the goal the mission has."  
"That's not what I was talking about."  
"Well, unlike you I can concentrate on work instead of checking out my co-workers and falling for them."  
Ziva gave him a funny look, "Oh, really?"  
"Really."  
"Good that we talked about it, now you're done", Gibbs interrupted the two, "Ziva, McGee go and talk to the victims father again, ask him about the relationship between the victim and her step-brother."  
"On it", McGee and Ziva said in unison before getting there things together and heading for the elevator.

It was exactly like Tony planned. He would go to work, not spend too much time on the mission he was on and definitely not talking about it for too long. All he had to do now, was to wait for no one of the team except McGee and him to be in the bullpen to hack into the Mossad's computer. Of course waiting for him and McGee to be alone could take hours, if not days. But they would eventually be alone. In case they wouldn't end up being alone, Tony wouldn't have a choice but to meet McGee at the bullpen in the middle of the night.

She only worked with Tony for one day, but it felt like eternity. Now she mostly had to work without him again and she could feel herself missing his presence. But how couldn't she, it was Tony she was without after all. The talkative Anthony DiNozzo she worked with for a few years. Those were the days. She often found herself remembering the time she had at NCIS and knew that she missed it. Sure, she had worked as a Secret Service Agent way more than she had as an NCIS agent, but there was a huge difference between those two jobs. NCIS, or rather the team she was in, was so close and it was always like a family to her. To give up on that was hard. But one of the reasons she had to fake her death was to protect this family, which made it seem worth it to Kate.  
A knock on her bureau door interrupted her thoughts, "Come in."  
"Hey", a good-looking male smiled after opening the door, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.  
"Hey", Kate shortly greeted him back, not taking her eyes off of the papers in front of her.  
The man who was a few years older than Kate sat down on a chair in front of Kate, "So how did it went yesterday? Who is it you're working with?"  
Kate shortly looked up into his eyes before looking on the papers again, "You asked me that already yesterday morning."  
"I know, but you didn't wanna tell me, so I'll ask you again."  
"It's not important, is it?"  
"Well you were so nervous about who it would be, which is logical since it's someone from NCIS, so who is it? Is it someone you already knew?"  
Kate sighed, "Yes."  
"Wait, really? I thought they weren't allowed to find out about you being alive?"  
Kate looked up into the pair of green eyes starring at her, "Too late now."  
"So... who is it?"  
"Tony."  
"That womanizer Tony?"  
"Don't call him that, John", Kate defended her former co-worker.  
"Why not? When you told me about him you mentioned he was always going out with women and stuff so he is one, isn't he?"  
Kate looked at him, "Doesn't mean you have to label him for it."  
"Whatever. So, how'd it go yesterday?"  
"Fine", she simply answered, looking down on the papers again.  
"Just 'fine'? Come on, Kate, I want details! Tell me how'd he take the fact that you aren't dead?"  
"He was disappointed that I'm still alive", Kate ironically said after looking at the blond again.  
"So he was glad, huh? How about you?"  
"I am feeling annoyance due to the fact that someone is distracting me from doing my job."  
The blond raised his hands in innocence, "I was just being curious."  
"And I was being serious."  
"Were you successful yesterday?" John now seriously asked after taking his hands down again.  
Kate shook her head, "Not really. The Director send him back to NCIS, hoping that we'd be able to hack into the Mossad's computer from there."  
"Let's hope that works."  
"I'm sure he will", Kate nodded.  
"So the womanizer is a nerd as well? That's an odd combination."  
"John! No, he is most definitely not a nerd. Unlike you he doesn't really know anything about computers, besides how to use the internet. Anyways, I've told you about McGee, haven't I? He probably knows computers better than he knows himself so I'm confident that he'll make it work."  
The blond looked at Kate for a while, "Does that mean that McGee knows about you being alive too?"  
"No, and he won't know. He does know that Tony is part of some mission though and he will help him, no question."  
"If you say so."  
"They may not seem like it, but Gibbs' team is a goddamn good team, no need to question them."  
John nodded contentedly, "But we both know who else is in the team..."  
Kate sighed, "Yeah..."  
"Have you told him yet?"  
"No way. He doesn't need to know. The reason we collaborate with NCIS is because we need them for access to the Mossad's computer and for support, especially for delivering the terrorist back to his home country."  
"If the mission turns out successfully, he'll find out sooner or later. So why not telling him now?"  
Kate stayed silent for a few seconds, "Because I want to give him some time processing the fact that I'm still alive. This is the second day of him working together with us, so I don't want to demand too much of him already."  
"If you think that's the right decision..."  
"I am going to tell him. Or maybe he'll find out by himself, I don't know. Either way, I am not the one responsible for telling him."  
"I know, but he might want to know something like that, and it's only fair for him to know, don't you think?"  
"Yes, but we also have to think about the fact that we can't blow our cover, or rather, he can't blow his cover. If he was to know, he might not be able to control his feelings and his colleagues at NCIS would probably recognize that and you know what happens then."  
John nodded, "I guess you did think this through."  
"What else did you expect?"  
"To be honest? I thought you might be distracted by the fact that you used to work together and all, you know?"  
"Well, I'm not", Kate answered.

_What might Kate be doing now?,_ Tony asked himself while sitting at his desk, not having anything to do.  
The case Gibbs' team was working on was nothing special and Gibbs spend his forenoon by telling Tony about the case. Gibbs was almost done explaining, when Ziva and McGee returned, telling Gibbs about the results they made, talking to the victims father. Tony didn't have much to do, except doing some research. While doing so, he kept thinking about Kate. It made him a thousand times happier just knowing that she was breathing and somewhere out there. Of course he was also concerned for her, not knowing what she was doing right now. But he knew her too good to worry too much. He knew she could take good care of herself and that she was doing alright. Still, he couldn't think of a reason for her to fake her own death. Especially since she was shot in the head by Ari Haswari. How could she have possibly survived that? There was no way. There was only one way, but Tony couldn't believe that that would be possible. _Kate would have never asked Ari to help her fake her own death... right?_

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, see ya in the next one ;-)**


	6. Chapter 6

**First of all, my apologies for taking so much time for updating my fanfiction. I know it's awful to wait so long for a next chapter (that is if you like it enough). I've been busy in the last few days and I've also been kinda stuck with this chapter. Anyways, now it is finally here and I hope you like it :-)**

During the entire day, Tony wasn't given the choice to be alone with McGee, so he couldn't find anything out and with that, he had to wait for the next day to hopefully have the opportunity to have McGee help him.  
He did have to help the team with their case though, and it was quite exhausting. It wasn't like he had much to do, but he just wasn't really there. His thoughts were on his mission, which was far more important than anything else.  
"You know, if Gibbs cought you staring at your screen, not doing your job he might end up shooting you", Ziva meant, noticing Tony not doing anything for minutes while the two were alone in the bullpen.  
"I don't think so", Tony said, not taking his eyes off the screen.  
Ziva looked at him curiously, "What exactly is that mission about?"  
"I cannot tell you, Agent David."  
"Oh, come on, Tony. What mission takes a break for a few days anyways?"  
"The one I'm in, obviously", he replied, still having his eyes fixated on the monitor.  
"Very funny", the female meant ironically, "So... does it involve a woman?"  
Tony surprisingly looked at her, "What if it does?"  
"I knew it", The brunette proudly meant.  
"Well my daily job involves a woman to, a woman called Ziva who is currently not doing her job."  
"Is she attractive?"  
"Why, are you interested?"  
Ziva grinned in annoyance, "I bet you've been thinking about her the entire time, haven't you?"  
"What if I have?" He asked, deciding that it would be better if she thought that he was more interested in the woman than the mission. If he let anyone know that the mission was of big importance, someone might figure out what it was about. Especially having his colleagues being Special Agents who daily investigate all kinds of cases.  
"You're pathetic, Tony, do you know that?"  
"You're just jealous, aren't you?"  
"Do I have a reason to be?"  
"Of course. After all this mission takes me away from you", Tony winked.  
Ziva grinned, "And I'm very happy about that."  
Tony's smile quickly vanished from his face as he heard that, "That's not a very nice thing to say, Ms David."  
"It wasn't supposed to be nice."  
"Great. Now let me focus on my job again."  
"You mean staring at your screen doing nothing?"  
Tony just gave her an annoyed look, making the female giggle.

When he returned home at ten pm, he was more than relieved to be able to go to bed after doing things like eating and changing into a pajama. He just got done with the bathroom, already in his pajamas, and was just about to go to bed, as he heard a knock on the door.  
Tony moaned as he let go of the doorknob to his bedroom and instead made his way to the front door.  
Opening the door, he suddenly felt completely awake, "Hey", he smiled.  
"Hey", Kate smiled back.  
Tony stepped aside and closed the door after Kate stepped in, "Missed me?"  
"How would you react if I said _yes_?" Kate smirked.  
Tony was left speechless for a few seconds, "I uh..."  
"You shouldn't have asked then", Kate giggled.  
Tony grinned "Is that what you came here for?"  
"No, I wanted to know how it went today."  
The smile faded from Tony's face, "Not so good. There was always either Gibbs or Ziva with us in the bullpen so I didn't have the chance to ask him. I'm not so sure if that would change if I went again though."  
Kate silently nodded.  
"Something wrong?"  
"Uh, no. Everything's fine", Kate lied.  
"You're lying and we both know it."  
"Great job, Special Agent DiNozzo", she sarcastically replied.  
Tony shortly grinned, "Thanks. But now seriously, what is it? There's something you're not telling me but you want to tell me, isn't there?"  
"Not really, no."  
Tony didn't believe her, but knew that she wouldn't tell him now no matter what he would try, "So, what are we gonna do now? Have me go back to NCIS everyday and wait until I am finally alone with McGee?"  
"We don't really have a choice. Tomorrow is Friday, Tony, just try to get the opportunity. We are supposed to fly next week, but we could really need some results before that."  
"I know, but it's not exactly something I have influence on."  
"Still, it's not like it's not gonna happen."  
"But what if..."  
"Tony", Kate interrupted him.  
"What?"  
"There is something I need to tell you", she said, not facing him.  
Tony was surprised and didn't know how to respond.  
"But that can wait a little, what's more important now is to figure out a plan how we can get you and McGee to be alone for at least an hour."  
"How do you plan on doing that?"  
"That's what we need to plan together, Tony, don't you ever listen to what I say?"  
"Don't worry, I hear every word."  
She nodded, "Good."  
The two made their way into the dining room where they sat towards each other at the dining table.  
"So, do you have anything on your mind yet on how to get us alone?"  
"Not really, no."  
Tony sighed, "It's not like I could decide who is in the bullpen and who isn't. I can't predict who will find something new and who will be the one to leave."  
"I know."  
"It's good to know that the Secret Service is so good at planning important missions", Tony sarcastically meant.  
Kate gave him a funny look, "It's not exactly the job of the Secret Service to figure out how you can get access to the information."  
"I know, but it would be so much easier if I could just get McGee's help even with the others around. It's not like they would post the mission on their blog, especially Gibbs."  
"Tony!"  
"What? I'm being serious."  
"So am I. You cannot under any circumstances tell anyone about it, only if it's really necessary."  
"I know that. It's just that it's hard to get time alone with McGee in one day. Because it's either that he isn't in the bullpen but with Abby to help her or Gibbs or Ziva are there as well."  
"I know that, Tony. That's why we need to figure something out."  
"You have something in mind, don't you?"  
"No, like I already said."  
"Why don't I just go to him and ask him to do it there? After all our McGeek has a computer at his place as well."  
Kate nodded, "I know that and also already considered that option, but the firewalls the computers of the NCIS are definitely better."  
Tony sighed, "Then what other options do we have?"  
"I didn't wanna go there, but I feel like we got no other option but to have you two hack into their system from Abby's lab."  
"Wouldn't that include us telling her about it and wouldn't that be kind of obvious?"  
"Yes. That is why you need to wait for McGee to be down in Abby's lab and then later go there as well."  
"How about I call him to meet me in Abby's lab later? Of course if we met at night we might as well use the computer in the bullpen but if we go to Abby's lab we would avoid other people who are crazy to still work from seeing us."  
Kate nodded, "Perfect."  
Tony took out his phone, "So, when should I meet him there?"  
"The less people are there the better. Two am sounds like a time not too many people are there."  
Tony was shocked, "Two in the _morning_?"  
Kate couldn't help but laugh, "Yes, Tony. But you might as well call it in the night."  
"You are unbelievable, Katie."  
She rolled her eyes, "Just call him before he goes to bed."  
Tony dialed the number before waiting for McGee to answer the phone. When the Special Agent finally picked up the phone Tony put on a happy face, "H-h-hey, McGee", he joyfully greeted his colleague.  
"What do you want from me, Tony?"  
"How do you know I want something from you?"  
Kate held back a giggle.  
"Because you're only that nice to me when you need me to do you a favor."  
"But I'm not gonna ask you to do me a favor."  
McGee was still suspicious, "Oh, really? Why else would you call me?"  
"I need to see you, McGee."  
"That sounds creepy, Tony."  
"Yeah... I guess you're right. But anyways, I need to meet you in Abby's lab."  
"Abby's lab? Did she find anything?"  
"No! And she won't know that we go there. No one will know, okay?"  
McGee grew more and more suspicious and curious with every second, "Okay?"  
"Just do it. But not now. Let's say we meet there in Abby's lab at two am. If you get there before me, you can start her computer already."  
"If you say so."  
"Just trust me with this one, McGee. It's important", Tony said before hanging up.  
"Great. Now we just have to wait for two am to come."  
Tony nodded, "Only four more hours."  
"You should get some sleep until then, Tony", Kate meant after getting up, turning around to leave.  
Tony got up as well, "Wait", he said, making her turn around again. Quickly and skilfully he jumped around the table to stand in front of her, their faces close together.  
"What?" She asked, feeling her heart beat louder.  
"There was something you wanted to tell me, right?"  
Kate nervously looked down.  
"What? What is it, Kate?"  
For a few seconds she didn't answer, collecting her thoughts, before starting, "What we're in right now is a secret mission. And we both have also already been part of undercover missions so you know how you sometimes have to pretend to be someone you're actually not..."  
"Please don't tell me you're not Kate. Firstly, because I wouldn't believe you, but secondly, and that's the main reason, I wouldn't wanna hear it!"  
A small smile passed Kate's face, "No, that's not what I was going to say. But I'm glad you wouldn't wanna hear it."  
Tony slightly blushed but covered it by coming back to the subject, "Then what is it?"  
Kate sighed, knowing she would have to tell him sooner or later anyways, "Someone you know is not who you think they are."  
"What do you mean? Who are you talking about?"  
"Ziva", Kate nervously answered, "She is working undercover for the Mossad. She never actually quit. Everything was planned, Tony."

**Oh no, not a cliffhanger! Hope you still enjoyed the chapter ;-) Next chapter will hopefully come sooner than this one :-) I'll give it my best!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A new chapter is ready to be read! Here you go :-)**

Suddenly, the world seemed to stop for a moment.  
"What?", Tony quietly answered, not sure if he heard her right.  
The brunette looked at him dead serious, "I shouldn't have told you, but... you probably would've found out anyway, if the mission turns out to be a success."  
"Ziva... she can't be."  
"But she is. The Mossad has wanted to get information from our Navy for years. So they sent her. It's the truth, Tony."  
"No, I don't believe it", he seriously replied.  
"Why?"  
The man looked at her, anger boiling inside him, "I know Ziva. She quit the Mossad for good. She didn't wanna work for them anymore. She wanted to work for NCIS and so she did. You can't just come here and tell me that's all a big joke."  
"Tony...", she tried to calm him down.  
"Kate", Tony looked at her, more serious than ever, "It's been a long time and Ziva took your job. I can understand if you feel jealousy towards her-"  
"What?", Kate indignantly asked, shocked about what she just heard.  
"It's okay, really."  
Kate shook her head, "I'm not jealous, Tony. I'm serious, there's a difference. Why can't you believe me?"  
"How would you know anyway. I've been working with her. Maybe that was the reason she started working with us, but she stayed and became part of our family. You just don't want this to be true."  
Silence came between the two. Kate looked at him in disappointment, "This is why I shouldn't have told you, and why I didn't tell you earlier. This is exactly one of the reasons no one from the team was supposed to work with us on this mission. Anyway, I thought that I should still tell you because you deserve to know. I guess I was wrong. But now I can't take back what I told you. Though, since you don't believe me, it shouldn't be too hard for you to still concentrate on your job tonight, not telling anyone what I just told you."  
Finishing that, Kate got up and left, leaving a confused Tony in the living-room.

When she arrived home, Kate quickly changed into her pajama before lying down in her comfortable bed. She knew she could get into trouble for telling Tony about Ziva. After all there was a chance that the mission wouldn't go according to plan and with that, Tony would return to NCIS as if nothing happened. She knew that that would've been hard enough for him, just knowing that she was still alive. But now, knowing Ziva's secret, it would be even harder for him. Besides her not being allowed to tell Tony, Kate never wanted to tell him anyway because she knew he wouldn't believe her. But at the same time she had felt bad, not telling him. Now it was too late to go back. Her words were said. All she hoped now was that it wouldn't distract him from work too much.

It was two in the morning, when an upset Anthony DiNozzo walked into Abby Sciuto's laboratory, trying his best not to show his emotions. McGee was already there, doing something Tony couldn't see on the computer.  
"There you are", McGee greeted his colleague, turning around when he heard the footsteps.  
Tony stayed silent, stopping in front of McGee when he got there.  
"So, why did you call me here?"  
"I need you to hack into the computer of a security service."  
"What security service?"  
"Mossad", Tony emotionless answered.  
McGee raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Mossad?"  
"Did I stutter, McGeek?"  
"What for?"  
"You can do it, can't you?"  
McGee looked at him for a while, "I can try."  
"Try?", Tony asked dissatisfaction in his voice.  
"I can do it, Tony."  
Tony shortly smiled, "That's what I needed to hear."  
McGee kept looking at Tony for a few more seconds, until he turned to the screen and started typing codes.

While McGee was trying to hack into the server of the Mossad, Tony sat there behind the screen, lost in his thoughts.  
"She seemed so serious", he thought, thinking back of his earlier conversation. He wanted to believe what she told her, but he couldn't. Kate meant a lot to him and the fact that she wasn't dead improved his life more than he thought it could, even though he never did think about it. But Ziva as well had grown close to him. They were all a family. No one could possibly not be who they said they were. That was impossible. All the memories he and Ziva shared together. It couldn't have been for nothing. She couldn't have doing this for reasons.

"Tony... Tony", McGee jolted Tony out of his thoughts.  
"What?"  
McGee looked at him with concern, "What is wrong with you?"  
"Excuse me?"  
"That's not how I meant it."  
"But it sounded like it to me."  
McGee sighed over that comment before explaining himself, "What I meant was, you seem a little off. And don't tell me you're tired, because that's not it. Something is bothering you, isn't it?"  
"It's an important mission, okay?"  
"I don't think that's what bothers you."  
"Do your job, McGee."  
"You've changed somehow."  
Tony looked at McGee with interest now, "What's that supposed to mean?"  
"Ever since you started being part of that secret mission you started acting different. It didn't seem to be somehow negative, but now..."  
"Now what, McGee?", Tony sulkily asked.  
"Now you're just pissed."  
"It's a stressful job."  
"You don't have to tell me, but you can't deny that you're a bad liar."  
Tony stayed silent, not knowing what to say. After all, McGee was right. Yet there was nothing Tony could say. It would probably feel good telling someone about it, however, he knew he wasn't allowed to do so.

As time passed by, Tony felt himself wanting to sleep and somewhat tired, though at the same time, he was wide awake. There was too much on his mind to be able to fall asleep. Of course he couldn't fall asleep anyway, since McGee was still trying to hack into the Mossad's system.  
Fortunately, McGee left Tony his freedom and didn't bother him with more questions. He knew Tony too well to waste his time asking him questions to which he wouldn't get an answer. McGee could feel that Tony wanted to talk about it, but something was stopping him. And since he had a job to do himself, he didn't spend much time thinking about it.  
"How much longer, McGee?", Tony asked half asleep.  
Without taking his eyes off the screen, he answered, "It's far harder than I expected it to be..."  
"How much longer, McGee?", Tony repeated his question.  
"I don't know", he sighed.  
For a few seconds, maybe a half minute, there was silence between the two until Tony asked, "How late is it?"  
McGee quickly checked his watch, "Three."  
Tony tiredly groaned.  
"That's not very helpful, Tony."  
"You're obviously not that helpful either, Timmy."  
McGee rolled his eyes, "Without me you wouldn't stand a chance."  
"Who says that?"  
"Everyone who knows that you're not any good with computers."  
"That's not true."  
"Oh, really?"  
Tony nodded, "I'm better than Gibbs."  
"What an achievement", McGee sarcastically replied.  
"If he knew you said that, he'd shoot you right away."  
"But firstly he'd make you tell him why you're ordering me here in the middle of the night."  
Tony ignored that last comment, giving McGee time and space to concentrate on his job again.

A little more time passed, and so it was half past four in the morning.  
For the last ten minutes, Tony had walked around the lab, trying not to fall asleep. He thought about all kinds of thinks just so he wouldn't fall asleep. At the same time he regretted that, due to all of his thoughts leading to the same - his last conversation with Kate. It completely messed him up, he couldn't think clearly anymore. Nothing made sense. He simply wasn't sure about anything anymore.  
Finally, his thoughts were interrupted by a now happy-seeming McGee, "I did it", he said, not believing himself.  
Tony quickly jumped next to McGee, starring at the screen as well, "Good job McGee."  
"So, what exactly are you looking for?"  
Tony looked at McGee, "Do I still need you? Cause if possible, I shouldn't tell you."  
"Well, technically, you don't need me. But it would be better if I did everything since someone has to shut down the computer and getting rid of all kinds of evidence of us being here. Plus, who knows what you might do if you search around in their main server."  
"Thanks for having so much faith in me", Tony smiled sarcastically.  
"I just don't think you'd want anyone to find out what we're doing here right now."  
Tony sighed, "You're right."  
McGee looked at him patiently, waiting for Tony to explain things to him.  
Tony looked at McGee before starting to explain everything, "Look, the Mossad may or may not be in the possession of information concerning the US security, especially Naval information."  
"Are you serious?", McGee asked in disbelief.  
"No, I'm practicing for my new job as a comedian", Tony said ironically, "Yes, I am serious. Dead serious. So would you just help me do the things you do and stop asking me more questions about all of this?"  
McGee nodded, "Whatever you say."  
And with that, the two started looking for stolen information.

**Hope you enjoyed this little chapter and I'll give my best to post the next chapter as soon as possible :-)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello everyone! It has been a great while since I have lastly updated this fanfiction. I've been pretty busy but finally sat myself down to finish this chapter. Hope you enjoy :-)**

Tony was woken up by his alarm clock at six o'clock. Completely tired, he pressed the stop button and slowly made his way out of the comfortable bed he spent too less time in that night.

McGee and Tony looked for almost an hour before the two went home again. They couldn't have stayed much longer due to other people returning to work and possibly seeing them, thus getting suspicious. But one hour was enough for them to notice that there were no information they could make use of. He had almost known that there wouldn't be any information on the computer. Of course they had to check any possibility, but right now it was bothering him that he had about one hour of sleep while he could have gotten more.  
Next week, him and Kate would fly over to Israel to bring back the terrorist Tamir Yadin. That was there main mission, though what was more important was to stop the Mossad from stealing information and especially getting already stolen information back. In addition to that, they had to find out the reason for all that trouble as well. With that, the fact that they had no idea whether or not the Mossad already had information wasn't very helpful.  
He had three more days to find out anything. Even if it was the smallest clue. They had to have something.  
Of course Kate had told him that Ziva was a spy sent from the Mossad and that she was trying to get information from the Navy, thus making her work at NCIS to have access to that said information. But Tony still had troubles believing that. He hadn't worked with Ziva for that long, but he still got to know her. He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it.  
But still, this wasn't about him. Ziva could be what Kate was accusing her of. That meant, Tony had to take an opportunity to figure out whether she was or wasn't. He had one more day left to figure it out.

He was nothing but tired. Never in his life had he been so tired. Never in his life had he have more trouble getting out of bed than right now. He felt like he had just fallen asleep a minute ago. But he had to get up. Showering really wasn't what he felt like doing at the moment, but at the same time he saw it as a help for getting awake.

She sat in her empty bureau. There wasn't anything she could do. Nothing but wait. This entire thing had gotten out of control and that for a case of such importance. Right at the start she had told him to act as if they had never met. Of course it was hard for both of them, but what was even harder was knowing about Ziva. She knew, telling him wouldn't turn out as an easy step. And now there she was, waiting for Tony to finish his day at work to tell her whether he had found something already. Though her bigger concern was whether or not he would even talk to her before they would fly off on Monday. After all, he didn't seem like he would quickly believe her. It would be quite surprising for her, if he ever believed her. Then again, after returning from Israel, they again would have to part ways. Whether he would believe her or not, that wouldn't even matter.  
She was kind of disappointed. After all she had hoped to have at least a tiny bit against the Mossad before flying off to them. It was the longest mission she had ever been part of and the one she wanted to finish the most. She had hated it from the first time she met Ari Haswari. If there was one thing Kate regretted, it was the choice not to kill him when she had the opportunity to since that might have saved her all the trouble and could have let her live her life as she did before, not faking her identity.  
A knock on the door ripped her out of her thoughts.  
"Come on in", she ordered.  
Her colleague and friend John entered and closed the door behind him, "Are you ready to leave, Kate?"  
Kate looked at him, sighing in silence.  
"Not so good, huh?" He asked, sitting down across from her.  
"You could say that."  
"So, you couldn't find any information up till now?"  
Kate nodded softly, "I don't have anything except my experience and myself as proof. But that's just not good enough."  
"Don't worry, we're all working on it", John meant with a comforting tone.  
"I just wanna be done with all of this."  
"Oh, c'mon! Don't tell me you're not happy that you got to see you're old friend again."  
"You mean Tony?"  
"Yeah", John replied shortly.  
"Kate sighed, "I'm not happy about that."  
John reacted with a long "What?" to the brunette's statement in surprise.  
"It's just not like it was before."  
"Well I bet he's just happy to get to see you again, and alive this time!"  
Kate shook her head a little, "Not after I told him..."  
"You told him?"  
She just nodded silently in response.  
"He didn't take it too well, huh?"  
"I knew he wasn't gonna believe me. I shouldn't have told him. There was no need to and the only thing making me do so was because I got too personally involved with him, knowing him from before and him being important to me."  
John stayed silent for a while, letting both of them process all of this, "I know he's important to you, but don't forget that you're important to him as well."  
"You don't know that..."  
"Don't give me that, Kate. Don't be that weak girl, thinking no one likes her. Of course you knew how he was gonna react, not because you know him so well but because everyone would. I would be shocked too if someone told me that even some random person, maybe only the janitor of this building was faking his purpose here and only works here to get information he wouldn't have access to otherwise. It's in our nature to get shocked over finding out we had the wrong image of someone or something. We need our time processing that. And our job here is to prove the truth. As soon as we did prove the truth he'll know anyway. It's better you told him before he found out after everything's over. This way, he can help us. It was the right choice."  
Kate looked down silently. Deep down inside she knew that he was right, but she still felt bad for breaking it to Tony.  
John gave her a warm smile, before leaving her alone again.  
She sighed, her only thought being 'Why?'

He was tired throughout the entire day. Tony was too tired to even pretend not to be as tired as he was. So of course that led to Gibbs immediately noticing Tony's condition. With that, he put Tony on desk duty for the rest of the day, while the others were working normally. Though he would normally feel more than unpleasant over desk duty, he was quite relieved to be able to spend his day sitting at the desk. He was too tired to move or concentrate on people's interrogations. In addition to that, he barely knew anything about the case. Though he should have informed himself about it, his mission was too important to spend his time with some other case. In just a couple of days he'd be flying off to his final job in the said mission, after that he could return back to his ordinary life. More or less. After all he knew Kate was alive so how was he supposed to continue living with that information without happily informing everyone about that as well. He could already see it in front of him how much Abby would freak out to get her best friend back. Tony knew Abby missed Kate more than anything, probably as much as Tony missed her. But at the same time he was still confused over everything. It was hard for him to believe what she told him about Ziva, but what reason would she have for faking it?  
It got him all curious and before he knew, Tony found himself sitting at Ziva's desk.  
Gibbs, Ziva and McGee had all gone out to the crime scene or interrogating someone, giving him plenty of time to at least check a little bit of her desk as well as her computer.  
He searched the desk but couldn't find anything suspicious. Right before he wanted to close one of the drawers, he found a USB flash drive. He took it and went back to his computer, where he copied the content of her USB flash drive on his. It took a few minutes before everything went on his USB flash drive, but when it was all done, he quickly put it back into her drawer so she wouldn't notice anything.

Tony arrived home at around nine pm. As soon as he got home he put the USB flash drive in his computer and looked at suspicious looking things. Most of the files he found included photos or information to old cases. There was however one particular order that caught his attention. Just by reading the name of the file, Tony knew, he wouldn't like what he was about to find out. There was just something he didn't like about the name _The Job_.

**I think I said this the last time as well but I'll try posting the next chapter sooner, though I can't promise anything. Hope you liked this chapter and haven't lost interest yet. :-)**


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